Words Matter!
Handout for the presentation, “Future tense: Messages from my students”
By Elizabeth Cernota Clark
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas
Baseline stylebook for our online class discussions, 2011-2015:
The Associated Press (AP) stylebook
Students examined and compared style guides produced by these journalism organizations to discover terms that are not (or were not, at the time) in the AP Stylebook:
· Asian-American Journalists Association: aaja.org
· Native American Journalist Association: naja.com (mainly word-usage articles)
· National Association of Black Journalists: nabj.org
· National Association of Hispanic Journalists: nahj.org (Manuel de Estilo de AP available by order)
· National Center for Journalism and Disabilities: ncdj.org
· National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association: nlgja.org
Additional sites some students reviewed or suggested:
· Yahoo Style Guide (social media, digital technology; now available only by order)
· BBC News Style Guide
· The Reuters Style Guide/ Handbook of Journalism
Words Matter: Our word list
The list of words my students explored and discussed over the last nine semesters is on the other side of this handout. These are terms they found in style guides and in word-usage articles that feature terms that are not (or were not, at the time) in the AP Stylebook.
These are words to be aware of and to consider including in a stylebook or style supplement. Or not. These words serve to inform writers and editors of contemporary words and expressions that are OK to use, and some that are not OK to use, depending who you are. Some words may carry different weights or different meanings in cultures other than your own.
Words Matter! Terms submitted, 2011-Spring 2015, ranked by frequency
coming out / 8 / desi / 2 / FAQ / 1down low / 8 / developmental disabilities / 2 / file types / 1
service animal / 8 / drag / 2 / freaknik / 1
vegetative, veg / 7 / exotic / 2 / gender-bender / 1
ally / 6 / families / 2 / ghetto blaster / 1
Cajun, Creole / 6 / hapa / 2 / guide dog / 1
Oreo / 6 / heterosexism / 2 / Gullah / 1
spastic / 6 / homophobia / 2 / Hawaiian / 1
civil union / 5 / intellectually disabled / 2 / hyperlocal / 1
defect / 5 / intersex / 2 / Indian-giver / 1
invalid / 5 / Juneteenth / 2 / ISIS, ISIL / 1
lame / 5 / mixed / 2 / Jack and Jill of America, Inc. / 1
Sambo / 5 / people of color / 2 / keloid / 1
special, special needs / 5 / Rastafarians / 2 / lifestyle / 1
stutter / 5 / sex reassignment surgery / 2 / little person / 1
two spirit / 5 / sister, sista / 2 / loon/ loony / 1
wigger / 5 / soul food / 2 / lover / 1
able-bodied / 4 / stricken with / 2 / mashup / 1
afflicted with / 4 / third world / 2 / microblog / 1
biphobia / 4 / "like" / 1 / Million Woman March / 1
bling-bling / 4 / 3D / 1 / Motown / 1
closeted / 4 / abolition / 1 / Negro/Negress / 1
cross-dresser / 4 / Act Up / 1 / niggardly / 1
dark continent / 4 / Afro-American / 1 / non-disabled / 1
Driving While Black / 4 / Americans with Disabilities Act / 1 / outing / 1
Ebonics / 4 / animal / 1 / pink triangle / 1
fag, faggot / 4 / Asian invasion / 1 / PlayStation / 1
kicks / 4 / Aunt Jemima / 1 / quads / 1
LGBT / 4 / Baptist church / 1 / queen / 1
alien / 3 / birth defect / 1 / rice ball / 1
ASL / 3 / bisexual / 1 / seizure / 1
bathroom bill / 3 / caste system / 1 / seroconversion / 1
cerebral palsy / 3 / China doll / 1 / social media / 1
domestic partner / 3 / Chinaman / 1 / Southern cross / 1
double Dutch / 3 / cisgender / 1 / special rights / 1
gender identity / 3 / Civil rights movement/ Act / 1 / sports team names / 1
illegal immigrant / 3 / commitment ceremony / 1 / Stonewall / 1
Jheri curl / 3 / cornrows / 1 / straight / 1
lupus / 3 / deaf / 1 / temporarily able-bodied / 1
mute / 3 / Deaf Culture / 1 / text out / 1
queer / 3 / deformed / 1 / The Links, Inc. / 1
411 / 2 / dingbat / 1 / thumb drive / 1
afterparty / 2 / diversity / 1 / tranny / 1
aunt, uncle / 2 / don't ask, don't tell / 1 / Underground Railroad / 1
baby's mama, baby's daddy / 2 / dwarf / 1 / vertically challenged / 1
bald, shaved / 2 / dyke / 1 / weave / 1
biracial / 2 / E-pub / 1 / widescreen / 1
chink / 2 / email addresses / 1 / Xbox / 1
cloud computing / 2 / ex-gay / 1 / yellow skin / 1
cruising / 2 / zero-emission / 1